Bass, Robert Perkins, 1873-1960

Biography

Robert Perkins Bass was born on Sept. 1, 1873. He graduated from Harvard College in 1896, and received an honorary degree from Dartmouth College in 1911. In 1904, Bass was elected to the House of Representatives for New Hampshire, to which he was reelected in 1906. That same year he was also appointed the State Forestry Commissioner. In 1910, Bass was elected to the Senate and became instrumental in the passing of the Direct Primary law which helped him become Governor of the State of New Hampshire in 1911; a position he held until 1913. During that time, Bass worked on behalf of Roosevelt's Progressive Party against the Republican nominee Taft in the 1912 presidential election. The move threw the state Republicans into disarray and led to a Democratic governor and a Democratic legislature. In retaliation, the party rejected Bass when he sought a U.S. Senate seat in 1913 and 1926. In 1945, Bass, along with retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts, convened the assembly that produced the Dublin Declaration, which proposed the transformation of the United Nations General Assembly into a world legislature. Bass died on July 29, 1960.

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